The world of instant messaging is changing but I do wonder if the big players have really "got it". First I see that Microsoft has released Windows Live Messenger. Then Stowe Boyd reports that Yahoo has some interesting ideas in the pipeline for its Messenger. Both sound really good and tempt me to try them.
Except for one major stumbling block - they still don't talk to each other. I currently use Trillian and Skype. My IM contacts are spread across AOL, MSN, Yahoo and Skype (I don't think I know anyone who still uses Google Talk). Trillian means I only need to run the one client. I also run Skype because I use SkypeIn to give me a London and New York phone number.
Text messaging (SMS) never took off until the mobile operators saw sense and allowed inter-network messages. IM can't become a viable business communications tool until the three (four if you include Skype) big players grow up and make it simple to connect with anyone on any IM network/client.
The one feature of OfficeTalk that we never use anymore is Notify. Years ago when I first stated using OfficeTalk it was one of my favourite features but for us it has long since been replaced with IM.
There's this proximity-based IM: www.meetro.com. Able to combine IM accounts across Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, MSN..etc too.
Posted by: Gwen | July 06, 2006 at 11:25 PM